Four members of the Dazzle Studio of Dance in the Feeding Hills section of Agawam will be representing the United States in the International Dance Organization World Dancing Championships being held in Kielce, Poland this fall. The four Springfield natives will be participating in a range of different competitions such as lyrical, contemporary Jazz, and and Acrobatic dance tournaments in late November.
Karielys Rivera, and her fellow studio members, Madisyn Vazquez, Thea Cosgrove, and Paige Bordeau will be the only ones representing western Massachusetts within Team USA during the competition. The entry into the tournament is the first time three of them have taken part in an international dancing tournament.
This however would make it the second one for Rivera, who previously represented the nation in the IDO World Hip Hop Championships in Germany back in 2019. The championship at that time hosted dancers from over 30 countries across the globe.
The dancers were honored Wednesday by Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, who gave them a mayoral citation to recognize them for the work and dedication that led them qualifying for the trip to Poland.
Lisa Attanasio, the director of the dance studio, was in attendance to also express her pride in the dancers for their achievements.
"I'm proud that they're doing a great job and they're going to go over and represent our country and hopefully bring home a medal," she said.
The dancers during their speeches all took time to thank friends, relatives and the public for their support during their qualifications in order to represent the nation in the World Championships at Atlantic City, New Jersey earlier this year.
In order to help cover the costs for the upcoming trip, Dazzle Studio of Dance plans on hosting a Bingo for a designer purse at the Saint Rose de Lima Church in Chicopee on Sept. 20.
